The Ugandan military said on Thursday that it is deploying more troops in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) to beef up an ongoing offensive against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

At least 42 people have died after their boat sank on a remote river in the Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials have said. More than 100 people are missing after the accident on the Oubangui River. A local official said 22 passengers had been saved.

The former Congolese Vice-President, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has appeared at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for the first time. Mr Bemba, who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo last year, was arrested in Belgium in May.

The ex-vice-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been extradited to The Hague to face trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Jean-Pierre Bemba, who fled DR Congo last year, was detained in Belgium in May. He will face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will very soon launch a new operation to track down and expel elements of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group, from the east of the country, according to official sources.

About 1,000 people have marched in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, Kinshasa, to protest the arrest of former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba on war crimes charges. The demonstrators Tuesday blew whistles, carried posters and chanted "Free Bemba."

Supporters of former presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba have accused the International Criminal Court of "politicizing Bemba's arrest. Belgian officials arrested 45-year-old Bemba late Saturday in a Brussels suburb on four charges of war crimes and two crimes against humanity.

The former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been arrested in Belgium on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Jean-Pierre Bemba, who fled Congo last year, was detained near Brussels late on Saturday after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant.

Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, President and Commander in Chief of the Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC), is alleged to be criminally responsible for four counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the Central African Republic from 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003.